A brief reprieve

[Lucent Leer]

Lucent had become a nervous wreck. Most of his days were consumed by worries that he seemed to have no control over. He had taken to revisiting his old university in his leisure time, pouring through medical textbooks and expecting to find some illness to explain the haunting hymn that was ringing through his mind. Alas, there was nothing. It was that same nothing that was keeping him up at night, though. Finally, the unicorn made a resolution.

He needed a vacation.

Somewhere far from the city. Far from where his troubles seemed to be rooted. Once he got his request approved, Lucent was out.

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There was something majestic about the mountains in the Griffon Kingdom. Maybe it was their color, for the cliff sides surely seemed more vibrant. Whatever it was, Lucent was enjoying the scenery as he hiked through the woods. He was starting to feel relaxed already. The air was crisp, the birds were chirping and, best of all, that blasted music hadn't sounded even once since he got here!

At the edge of the forest, the large, crystal clear lake came into view. The gray unicorn slumped against a tree and chuckled to himself. It looked that his nerves had gotten the best of him again. The past week all felt like a bad dream now...

[Red Charge]

The lake shimmered in the morning sun, the surface was smooth and placid. Just staring at it was relaxing, the water, as was well know, were clear and clean perfect for a dip or for a drink. Almost as though the lake was an artificial reservoir.

It was sad that the local residents of the area were griffons and as such did not appreciate neither water nor being on the ground, but it also meant that there was no one around to disturb the lake and that it remained pristine and beautiful. The sandy shores of the lake were surrounded by soft grass and patches of flowers. The sun warmed Lucent's fur and the bird chirping was melodic and relaxing.

He had picked an excellent place to relax. If only the annoying music in his head would go away. Despite the quiet around him, the music was not overly loud, it was probably quieter than it had been for days. He could stay there and lie in the grass for a while, or perhaps go and explore a bit more of Stone Valley. There were plenty of mysterious stone formations to look at and a lot of open flats and fields to go through. Here there was no invasion, no war. He didn't have to worry about monsters either, Rocs and Griffons kept this area very safe.

[Baxter]

It had been a day, a day since Baxter had left Ice Fang, Sammie, and Maxime, the smaller wolf deciding they were better off with him finding his own way to the Barrens. He had caused Ice Fang too much trouble as it was.

Baxter had walked thorough Stone Valley in an almost-zombified trance, stopping only once to sleep. The only thing keeping him company was the organ music repeating in his head. Perhaps it fit considering the circumstances, and he was actually glad it was there to distract him.

The wolf soon hit a lake, at which he stared for several seconds. It was flat and still, peaceful even...

He really had no idea where he was. The bow-less archer was hopelessly lost in the middle of the Griffon Kingdom, probably headed in the opposite direction of where he needed to go. He sat down in frustration, looking blankly out onto the water. Maybe he should have thought this through better. He could end up wandering Stone Valley for a while.

The stillness of the water was starting to annoy him, so he picked up a small rock and chucked it into the water. At least it would be more entertaining to watch.

[Lucent Leer]

Lucent's first day in the valley went by without incidence, just how he wanted it! He found a nice camping spot in a clearing in the woods and nestled down for the night, the haunting music only seeming to be a faint calling now.

He awoke early the next day, hoping to catch the colorful morning sky. The peacefulness of the valley appeared to be having a therapeutic effect for the unicorn. His troubles melted away as he relaxed by the lakeside, engrossing himself in the novel he had brought with. He gazed out from his book and into the lake once again. The waters were incredibly pristine, there was nothing like them in Equestria! It was a small splash that caught his attention, though. Something small skittered across the surface of the water, before ending in a tiny ripple. He scanned the shore for the origin of the object and, sure enough, there appeared to be some one else enjoying the pleasant day here. He put down his book and decided to get a closer look at the newcomer.

Trotting across the shore, Lucent suddenly stopped dead in his tracks when he realized what the visitor was: a diamond dog. He gasped and darted into the woods nearby, hiding himself behind a thick tree. Lucent had heard stories of their ferocity, the news from the Fillydelphia invasion still fresh in his memory. His mind was screaming for him turn around and put as much distance from him as possible. However, his curiosity got the better of him. Lucent had never seen a diamond dog up close. He didn't look all that scary, anyways.

He crept closer, trying to use the forest as cover. The unicorn made some ground, the diamond dog becoming more clear in sight now. He looked decidedly miserable and hardly like the merciless beast he was made out to be. His gaze fixed on the dog, Lucent placed a hoof forward and crushed a thick branch on the ground. The loud CRACK surprised him and he let out a yelp. Panic welled up in Lucent as he realized his mistake.

[Baxter]

A definite 'crack' from within the trees caught the full of Baxter's attention. He swore, if it was another bear or mountain lion he'd... well, he would, if he had a bow. But it was followed by a yelp, so it couldn't have been a wild animal.

The wolf turned in the sound's direction, finding a gray-pelted unicorn looking at him. Baxter stared wild-eyed at the pony, wondering why on earth it had decided to approach him. He wasn't particularly in the mood for company. Especially pony company.

"What the heck do you want?" he finally asked. Baxter didn't think he had the will power to get rid of this pony in his current state of mind. Hopefully it would spook and run away.

[Lucent Leer]

Lucent winced as the wolf looked in his direction. He clearly didn't appear pleased to see him, but, on a positive note, he hadn't flayed him apart either! The unicorn took a deep breath and focused himself before replying.

Remember, equal spacing, slow pacing.

“Just noticed you...by the lakeside. Many v-...v-visitors don't seem to come out here.”

It was a simple technique he practiced to avoid his stutter, but it had proven to be effective. Some of the time, at least. He knew he should be more frightened, but the creature was so peculiar...

[Baxter]

"I'm not visiting. This isn't a stupid vacation." The pony was clearly scared, on account of how badly it was stammering, but the fact that it hadn't immediately run away was disappointing.

Not that he was concerned. This clearly wasn't a soldier or anything of a similar caliber. This pony was like most ponies, a ditzy grass eater that spent most their lives doing things like watering flowers. He probably knew his way around a garden better than a weapon. If the archer wasn't so exhausted and bothered enough to care, he could kill it right now.

And surely it knew that. Surely it wasn't so stupid that it didn't know how dangerous to even approach someone like him was. The wolf eyed the gray-pelted unicorn cautiously, trying to catch if there was something he'd missed. "Well? You just gonna stand there and stare at me? Or maybe you should run back to Equestria. I hear Fillydelphia's busy this time of year."

[Lucent Leer]

The wolf was growing more aggressive and getting a good look at his wicked teeth only made him question his safety further. Lucent subconsciously took a step back after his snide remark, now glowering back at him. It seemed like what he had heard about diamond dogs was true: there were nothing but bad business. It was getting difficult to think, however, as the song skimming on the surface of his thoughts underwent a sharp crescendo. Lucent visibly recoiled at the sound of it.

“D-d-Dang music,” he muttered to himself

He doubted he would ever get used to that irregularity. Lucent decided that he had pressed his luck far enough already. The wolf hadn't ponced on him yet, and he didn't want to give him a reason to.

“Fine then,” he said simply, looking to not antagonize him further. The unicorn turned tail and went back towards the woods, silently praying that the white wolf would not stalk him.

[Baxter]

Baxter raised an eyebrow when the pony cringed for no apparent reason, but it was what it said afterwards that was far more confusing. Music? There wasn't any music here, aside from the never ending organ music playing in his head. But the pony wouldn't have been able to hear it, right?

The archer watched the pony beginning to turn away, deciding to do something at the last second. "I didn't say you could leave," he said, his voice mostly flat but with enough aggression to get his point across. He may have shrugged the pony off a few seconds ago, but now that was irrelevant. This pony needed to stay put.

"What music?" Baxter asked. "There's no music here, is there?" He had a theory. Maybe for whatever reason this pony could hear the music that was coming from his head. Maybe that was even why it had approached him, to see where it was coming from. Didn't really explain the cringing though.

[Lucent Leer]

Lucent froze in place at the wolf's command. No! Why did he even get this close?! He knew better and still he had come out this far. His body was tensing up now, he probably couldn't run even if he somehow mustered the will to do so. Not to say he would get that far anyways.

The Music? Great, now he probably thought he was daft too.

“You're right, there is none. I must have been i-i-i-...” The unicorn swallowed, the word seeming to be trapped in his throat. “...imagining things. Silly me, right?”

He knew very well what he had heard was only in his head. He had convinced himself of that after asking so many others about it in Canterlot. Lucent hoped his answer would sate the curiosity of the wolf, as well as his appetite.

[Baxter]

((Red wanted us to continue posting in the meantime.))

Baxter frowned at the pony's answer. It was clearly lying, that was obvious just by how it's response was worded. It was either trying to hide something or get away as quickly as possible. "Don't lie to me," the wolf said, standing up. "You heard something, what was it?"

If the pony was trying to hide something, why though? Did it know something Baxter didn't, something it didn't think he'd want to hear? But again, it could just be trying to get away. For all it knew, Baxter couldn't hear whatever was the music, and maybe it didn't want to get involved with an explanation or investigation. "Spit it out."

[Lucent Leer]

Lucent turned around to face the wolf again, returning a confused look to him. No one had ever pressed him so hard on this matter before, so why was this diamond dog so curious about it? He had no reason to hide the truth any longer though. His life could be at stake if he tried to dodge any further! The unicorn bit his lip, attempting to calm his nerves and think of a way to explain the melody playing in his mind.

“It was a somber tune...played by an organ,” he said deliberately, his voice shaking. He stamped the ground in frustration. “I know you probably didn't hear it, but I still do.”

[Baxter]

The wolf nodded as the unicorn began to explain himself. Sure enough it was the music in his head, the depressing organ music that had followed him for weeks. But the last bit confused him. Still do? What did "still do" mean? That he was still hearing it since Baxter had arrived at the lake?

"Why can you hear it? When did it start playing? Is that why you came down here, to see what was causing it?" Baxter asked, barraging the unicorn with questions. He wanted everything the unicorn knew about the music, especially if it would help him find out a way to get rid of it.

[Lucent Leer]

The sudden stream of questions surprised the unicorn. He seemed to be pressing so hard on the subject; why did he care so much?! “N-no, that's not why I came, I...” Lucent stopped mid-sentence. This unexpected line of questioning from the wolf was certainly strange, especially on how keen he was to brush him off before. However, there was something about that last query that struck him as odd. His face changed from worry to confusion. “Why would I come here for that? This valley was not where I first started hearing it.”

He knew something, he had to! Lucent was unsure what to think about this possibility, though. Was there something special about this place that he would bring that up?

[Baxter]

The valley wasn't where it had started hearing it? What did that mean? That the pony had been constantly hearing the organ music coming from other people's heads? Or that... it was hearing music from it's own head?

Baxter gave the gray-pelted unicorn a long, hard look for several seconds. The wolf was still very confused, and really had no way of knowing what exactly was going on. The pony had only answered one of his questions, and even then it had misinterpreted what he'd meant. Perhaps he needed to take things more slowly.

The archer took several steps closer to the pony, grabbing it's mane with one hand and looking directly into it's eyes. "When did it start playing," he asked, holding up one finger, "And has it stopped since?" he finished, uncurling another. Hopefully this time he would get exactly the answer he was looking for.